I am lactose sensitive. I can have some dairy and be perfectly fine but too much and I am sick. This is especially true with ice cream. That is why I was particularly surprised when my mother took me to a restaurant called Jackson’s and happily let me order a Root Beer Float that came with a pitcher of root beer and a pint of vanilla ice cream. She’d been there before and knew what I was getting into…I did not. Needless to say I had to force my stepdad to help me out with the ice cream. Doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it though because root beer floats are awesome!

In light of my enjoyment of root beer floats, I was pretty pleased when this Root Beer Float Black Tea arrived as a sample in one of my orders from 52 Teas. Even more exciting are the delicious sounding ingredients of black teas, marshmallow root, sarsaparilla root, vanilla beans, calendula petals, and natural flavors. I made this as both a latte and a plain hot cup of tea.

My latte, though a bit watered down due to my inaccurate measuring, has a great sarsaparilla flavor. More than just the sarsaparilla which captures the root beer note, the vanilla beans and fluffy marshmallow combine with the milk to create a silky and creamy vanilla ice cream flavor. As a whole, the entire concept of root beer float is expertly captured in this tasty tea latte.

The plain tea is much more root beer than float. Granted there is a nice dose of vanilla and some softness from the marshmallow root, it is more heavily weighted towards the base black tea and the sarsaparilla root.

All in all, this tea (which is not currently available on the site but could be reblended) is a great take on the popular root beer float tea. Though it is good both ways I had it, I personally recommend the latte for a more accurate float. Just add a bit of whipped cream and a maraschino cherry and you got a treat worthy of any soda shoppe or 50s diner (but with much fewer calories :P).

Hey there! My name is Rachel. I’m a twenty-something from Toronto, Ontario, Canada who loves dogs and has a bit of an obsession with tea. As a child I hated the stuff since all I ever knew was Red Rose (no offense to Red Rose). However, a few years ago that all changed. I was on a diet and desperate for new flavors without adding calories and that’s when I turned to tea. I started off by going to DAVIDsTEA and Teavana for all their dessert-inspired flavors, and since I didn’t know any better, I bought 100 grams each of about twenty-something different teas. This was okay for the teas I liked but for those I didn’t I needed to find some way of getting rid of them.
Enter Steepster.com. This is where I met some incredible tea friends, discovered tea swaps, and learned of so many amazing tea companies. My desire to try all the teas grew and since joining three years ago I have tried over a thousand different teas. I have learned what ingredients I love and I have learned what flavors I don’t like. I determined my go-to brewing method is Western-style with no added milk or sweeteners, though I also enjoy cold brewing, iced teas, teapops, lattes, and smoothies. I have yet to brew gong-fu style but I hope to do so just as soon as I get the proper teaware to do it.
About a year ago, I actually stopped drinking tea but as my stash of over 200 teas started aging I decided I needed to respark my interest. I chose to take a 365 days of tea challenge on Instagram in which I post a new tea picture every day. So far it has been rather successful as I find myself drinking (and buying) more and more tea each day. Plus it enabled CuppaGeek to find me and invite me here to SororiTea Sisters.